Mark English breaks 48-year-old European 800m championship record, then wins Ireland's first men's gold

Mark English clocked 1:43.49 in his 800m semifinal at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, shattering Olaf Beyer's championship record of 1:43.84, set in 1978. English led four men under the old mark. A day later, the Finn Valley AC runner won gold — Ireland's first men's individual European title.